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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25732888">You Will Be Found</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackFrost_Rose/pseuds/BlackFrost_Rose'>BlackFrost_Rose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>On Your Wings-verse [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mystic 9 (TV), 怒海潜沙&amp;秦岭神树 | Explore with the Note &amp; The Lost Tomb (TV), 沙海 | Tomb of the Sea (TV), 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei, 老九门 | Old Nine Gates (TV), 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>"Everyone was Kungfu Fighting" was playing in my head as I wrote ch.3, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animals Make Everything Better, Established Relationship, Established Wang Meng/Liang Wan, Established Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling, Everyone is protective on Xiao Mei, Everyone will eventually have an animal by the time I'm done, F/M, Families of Choice, Family Feels, Found Family, Granny Wu is now Lan Meifan, Granny Wu raises dogs and is scary af, I will melt your heart when I'm done, Its only in ch.3, Li Cu gets loving parents, Li Cu has some ptsd from his dad, Li Cu is adopted by Wu Xie, Li Yiming's A+ parenting, M/M, Mentions of characters from the reboot/chongqi, Mild Swearing, OC animals, One-sided Yang Hao/Li Cu, Our boys can kick major butt now, Platonic!Pangzi/Piaopiao, She's related to our Lan boys-their aunt, Spoliers for Chongqi/The Reboot, The blanket nest finally makes an apperance in ch.4, Tribute fic for a friend, Wu Xie and Xiaoge will have nice things damnit, Xiao Xie is just like her human counter part, Xiaoge has a fuzzy blanket nest, Zhang Rishan is Grandpa Rishan, a lot of headcanons insprired by my friends on discord, desciptions of animal cruelty, set sometime in the reboot/chongqi, the animals at Wushanju are really smart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:33:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,179</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25732888</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackFrost_Rose/pseuds/BlackFrost_Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't unusual for XiaoXiao to disappear for days on end. His master did it all the time. But when Xiao Xie did it, she came home with something more.</p>
<p>Synopsis: 5 times Xiao Xie brought home a kitten + 1 time she brought home something bigger.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Li Cu &amp; Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Qi Tie Zui/Zhang Rishan, Wang Meng/Liang Wan, Wang Pangzi &amp; Piaopiao, Wang Pangzi &amp; Wu Xie, Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>On Your Wings-verse [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1866604</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Wu Family Album</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Bringing home the night 🌙</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This started as a tribute fic for a friend of mine who lost her kitty recently and I wanted to make her smile. Also I have my new siblings on discord to thank for all of the wonderful headcanons that made this work possible. And thanks to skydancer04 (meimei) for being my beta!</p>
<p>Yijie, this one is for you! </p>
<p>Go check out Sleeping_Obsidian's work "Familiar Souls", it also features XiaoXiao and Xiao Xie!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It wasn't unusual for Xiao Xiaoge (or XiaoXiao to most of the household that called the strange calico cat that had wandered into Wusanju one day on the heels of Xiaoge) to disappear for days on end. It was something his master did regularly. The calico usually came home after whatever he did bringing back small presents (a pretty leaf of deep red, or a small stone shaped like a heart) that he would give to the long-haired black cat, Xiao Xie, who would, in turn, give it to her human. Both cats always looked so proud whenever they brought the presents back to Wu Xie. He would smile at them before accepting whatever it was that they had given him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(The first few times they did this, he would put down the present on whatever surface was nearest before going back to his reading. They would give him what looked like a disappointed look before they would meow constantly at him. At first, he wasn't sure what they wanted. It wasn't until Xiaoge got home from a mission that he figured out what they wanted. They wanted their presents displayed for the whole household to see. How Xiaoge figured that was a mystery, but then again there were plenty of things that were still left in the dark about him. Figuring out the gist of what they wanted and with his spouse's help, Xiaoge and Wu Xie cleared a small space on a living room shelf to display the gifts from XiaoXiao.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But this time was different. It was Xiao Xie who had disappeared, and she had been gone three days now. His frail state, staggering from one coughing fit to another, fought with the desire to search outside for Xiao Xie. He couldn't ask the children to do it, them being away. Wu Xie was proud that Li Cu had decided to go to college after all that he had been through. (They might not know it, but Wu Xie had an inkling of who was paying for their tuition. His grandmother and Chairman Zhang weren't hiding it all that well. At least from him.) Pangzi was away on a small errand for Wu Xie along with Wang Meng and Kan Jian and would be away for a few days at least. Xiaoge was off doing something for the Chairman with Liu Sang but both would return later that night. That just left him at home alone with Xiao Moli, Li Cu's Chinese bear dog, and XiaoXiao. The dog was lying by the gate watching people pass as he waited for the children to return from college over the weekend, while the male cat had decided that Wu Xie made for a comfortable napping bed. He had been sitting in the chair outside reading an old text he found at a friend's second-hand bookstore. It detailed a small local legend of a remote village that worshipped a White God and a Red Demon. As much as it captured his attention, his mind wandered back to the missing cat. The late afternoon sun was just about to disappear over the walls and soon both his spouse and children would return. He had sat the book down in favor of closing his eyes to rest them. Soon he would have to get up to start dinner for his family. Maybe he should send a text to Liu Sang to pick up snacks and drinks for everyone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A soft </span>
  <em>
    <span>woof </span>
  </em>
  <span>caught his attention, making him open his eyes to stare at Xiao Moli as the large dog got up from where he was laying down. Soon after a muffled cry followed; a very familiar </span>
  <em>
    <span>meow</span>
  </em>
  <span> that had the calico perking up. Answering in turn, XiaoXiao got up to run towards the noise. That was when the man noticed a black blur jumping over the gate's threshold, fur matted and covered in mud just below her chest and all over her legs. Her tail was raised high as she made her way into the courtyard. The male cat raced over to his mate, sniffing at her face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>, at </span>
  <em>
    <span>something she was carrying</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Wu Xie thought as the female gave a slight pause before trotting over to her human. As she got closer, he noticed that what she was carrying wasn't like the presents XiaoXiao brought home. No, she had brought home a very small and very weak kitten, just as matted and covered in mud as she was. It was a lot smaller than most strays in the area, but given the fact that both of them were covered in mud, Xiao Xie must have walked a ways away to find the kitten.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you have here, girl?" He moved from his chair to kneel on the ground. Even with the slight chill in the autumn air, he was wrapped up in a blanket he </span>
  <em>
    <span>borrowed </span>
  </em>
  <span>from Xiaoge’s little nest of fuzzy blankets. Holding out his hand to gently pry the kitten away from her, Xiao Xie instead placed the small ball of fur in his outstretched hand, looking up at him like </span>
  <em>
    <span>I found it, we keep it. My baby now.</span>
  </em>
  <span> If he didn't know any better Wu Xie would say that she looked </span>
  <b>
    <em>proud</em>
  </b>
  <span> of herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gently lifting the kitten to where he could see it better, Wu Xie noticed that the poor thing was very small (maybe too young to leave its mother) and upon a closer look, he could see bits of silver/grey fur peeking out from underneath the mud. When the small thing opened its eyes, soft blue-green eyes were nearly overshadowed by large black irises. The poor thing let lose a weak </span>
  <em>
    <span>meow</span>
  </em>
  <span> before trying to squirm out of his cupped hands. Xiao Xie let loose one of her own answering calls, reaching up to place her muddy front paws on his bent knee to sniff at the kitten. Before he could admonish the large feline, Xiao Moli let loose three deep barks to signal the arrival of his three children.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Laoma, we're back!" Li Cu was always the first one to enter the front gate, along with Tianzen, his white Kunming wolfdog that Wu-nainai had gifted him to help with some of his trauma left behind by his biological father. (He had a feeling that Tianzhen and Xiao Moli were one of the few things his grandmother and Chairman Zhang would ever agree on. Aside from splitting the cost of their college tuition that is.) Tianzhen gave a greeting to the much larger dog, sniffing and tails wagging, before following after their master. Su Wan and Yang Hao not too far behind. They were a little early, but that might have been because Doctor Liang had gone to pick them up. The woman was the last through the gate. She offered him a smile and wave when she spotted him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Look who I found wandering the streets!" She joked as she followed the boys into the courtyard. "Like lost lambs, I just couldn't leave them to fend for themselves."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We were </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>, dajie," Su Wan, ever the polite child gave the doctor his brightest smile. (Ever since her engagement to Wang Meng, all the children began calling them </span>
  <em>
    <span>dage</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>dajie</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was cute in a way. Even if there was about a ten-year gap between Wang Meng and the trio and both Wu Xie and Wang Meng being in the same age group, they treated Wu Xie more like a parent than a brother. He blamed Pangzi.) "It's not like anyone around here will mess with Xiao Sanye's kids."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah!" Yang Hao added for emphasis. "If they do, Ershu will take care of 'em."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Or laoba. Either one is scary in their own way." Li Cu added, a soft smile on his face as he scratched behind Xiao Moli's ear. "But why do you have a dirty furball? And why is Xiao Xie covered in mud?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know. She's been missing for a few days now." He held the kitten close to his chest, not caring if the blanket got dirty. The poor thing had started to shiver, weakly crying out its distress. "She just returned before you did, carrying it. Poor thing must have been thrown out."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The doctor let out a horrified gasp before covering her mouth with her hand. "Whoever did this is not human! A monster in human skin."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Li Cu, why don't you give Xiao Xie and the kitten a bath while I text Liu Sang to pick up some things from Nainai's?" Wu Xie gently lifted the kitten to his oldest, easily passing it over from all the times they used to do it with his grandmother's puppies. As if sensing the intentions of her human, Xiao Xie gave one final </span>
  <em>
    <span>meow</span>
  </em>
  <span> to Wu Xie before following the younger male to the bathroom for a bath. He couldn't help the fond smile that graced his face as he watched his cat and adopted son walk towards the section of the house with the bathroom. Turning his attention back to the other three he said, "Go ahead and put your stuff in Li Cu's room while Liang Wan helps me in the kitchen."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other two boys nod, "Yes, laoma," they echo each other as they head to their best friend's room. (Though if the looks Yang Hao was giving Li Cu were like the ones Pangzi </span>
  <em>
    <span>says</span>
  </em>
  <span> he gave Xiaoge back when both of them were oblivious idiots (his grandmother's words) then it wouldn't be long before best friend changed to </span>
  <em>
    <span>boy</span>
  </em>
  <span>friend.)</span>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A loaf from the market 🍞</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They were supposed to be shopping for food, but Xiao Xie had other plans.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is brought to you by my siblings on the dmbj discord server and my awesome Dage, Merinnan. They helped me out by being my beta reader and they're to blame for giving me the mental image of Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) being Kan Jian's spirit animal.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was something wrong with what he was seeing. Kan Jian was doing a run to the local outdoor market with Li Cu and two of the Wushanju dogs (when they did this the first couple of times everyone was wary of such a large dog following behind them, but they quickly warmed up to the bear dog once they saw how gentle he could be. It was Tianzhen one had to be wary of, the white Kunming was very protective of his human. He also would’ve brought his own White Canadian Shepherd, Stitch, but the glutton had decided to stay behind when he saw Yang Hao enter the kitchen with Wang Meng. That dog loved treats just as much as he did Kan Jian). However, this day was different because the boss's cat, Xiao Xie, decided to tag along, hiding in the large dog's fur. They hadn't noticed until suddenly there was a large black blob moving with a very orange blob in her mouth. A black blob with stunning (and very familiar) green eyes. It wasn't the first time that the feline had decided to join them on a market run, sometimes even XiaoXiao would join, too, but this was the first time that she had disappeared without them knowing she was even there until she came back carrying something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Xiao Xie!" His boss's son looked on with surprise. He too was surprised, but even more so when said cat stopped just behind Xiao Moli's head with her bundle. "You can't just go taking things from people."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The feline gave the younger male an "</span>
  <em>
    <span>are you serious</span>
  </em>
  <span>" look before she set down what she was carrying. Which turned out to be a very small (even smaller than Xiao Wan who was back at Wushanju with the others) kitten with orange fur and stripes. The little thing didn't look to be in bad health like the other kitten was, this one was a little bit chubby, and its eyes were a very stunning hazel behind the blown-out pupils. It let loose a very loud cry as it was being set down on the large dog's back. The kitten was about to fall off Xiao Moli, but he reacted fast enough to catch it. Upon closer look, the kitten seemed to be missing part of its tail so it looked like it had a small nob on it. The wound had closed up recently, there was still a scab but it didn't look that infected. As the older male gently held the kitten, he noticed that it also had very short legs and it was definitely a </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Setting the kitten back up on Xiao Moli's back, he noticed how Xiao Xie guided the mewling kitten closer to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That poor thing." A female voice came from behind them. Kan Jian watched as the other male flinched at the sound (a reaction from his time down in the tombs with laoban) before both of them turned to the speaker. It was a woman neither of them recognized, at her side was a young girl who stared at the animals with wide eyes. "Is it okay?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We hope so, our Xiao Xie seems to like collecting kittens." Kan Jian gave the woman his brightest smile that he learned from his boss. "This is the second time she's done this."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She has a habit of stealing kittens?" The woman sounded skeptical as she eyed the black cat on the back of the dog. The feline ignored her in favor of licking the kitten's ears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She found a stray last time, covered in mud and so small," Kan Jian explained, waving his hands around to reassure the older woman. "Wu-nainai's vet said that the kitten was very lucky Xiao Xie found her when she did. Otherwise, it would've died."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh, the poor thing." She had a sad smile on her face as she looked at the larger feline. There was something that flashed in the woman's eyes as he moved his hands about. Quickly recognizing his mistake, he let his hands fall to his side. Sometimes Li Cu would get that same look in his eyes if someone approached him from behind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(It had gotten better somewhat. Xiaoge had a habit of walking silently around Wushanju like a cat, which was very nerve-wracking for Li Cu who had a habit of lashing out if something scared him. After the first few times of it happening, XiaoXiao and Xiao Xie decided that they needed to warn the teen if his adoptive father was behind him. Both felines have a very distinctive </span>
  <em>
    <span>meow</span>
  </em>
  <span> that was mixed with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>purr</span>
  </em>
  <span> that they used as a warning. They seemed to only use it around the older man. After a bit, Li Cu's dogs picked up a habit of thumping their tails twice against the nearest surface in warning if neither of the cats were around. It was strange to see the animals reacting like they did, but it wasn't that much of a stretch given who their masters were.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She's very pretty, ma." The young girl looked up at her mother, pointing to the black-haired cat. Hearing the compliment, Xiao Xie let out a very </span>
  <b>
    <em>pleased </em>
  </b>
  <span>sound as she sat down while curling her fluffy tail around herself and the kitten.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She knows it too," Li Cu chuckled as he bent down to the girl's level. "You wanna pet her?" The girl nodded with a bright smile on her face. Both turning to the older woman, Li Cu asked, "Is that okay, aunty?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Xiao Mei has always wanted a pet, but where we're at right now, we can't keep one. Let alone afford one." The woman offered a soft smile. "If it’s okay with you, I don't see why not." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kan Jian had noticed the way the woman's expression seemed a little pained, and that was when he noticed a faint bruise on her cheek that she tried to hide behind make-up. (If he noticed it, then he had no doubt that Li Cu noticed it as well, after all the youth had been through because of his bastard of a biological father.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Smiling up at the mother, Li Cu took the girl's hand to guide her over to where the large canine was standing with his smaller riders. Kan Jian could only watch as both the youth and the girl petted Xiao Xie. As he watched the girl carefully pick up the small kitten to cuddle with him, the other male  couldn't help but see the worry etched on the older woman's face. He wanted to say something so bad, but it wasn't his place to say anything (just like that time he wanted to use his slingshot against Li Cu’s blood father) . Luckily he didn't have to, Li Cu did it for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Aunty, if it’s okay with you, would you like to come over and let Xiao Mei play with our other animals?" He gave the woman what could only be a smile he learned from laoban where he gave it to you to lower your guard so he could get what he wanted. "We have the other two cats there and my laoma is helping foster some pups for Nainai." Kan Jian could see what the youngster was planning. Get the mother-daughter pair back to Wushanju under the pretense of playing with the animals while having laoban and his spouse see them just the one time before their son begged them to help. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(If Kan Jian was right in the fact that the woman's husband was actually beating her, then he had no doubt that Li Cu would ask for his parents to do something for them. Li Cu had seemed to have found a connection with the pair. Maybe even finding a bit of himself in the young girl. Kan Jian still remembered the bits he saw from watching Li Yiming the one time they went back for something that Yang Hao had given Li Cu when they were kids. Let's just say, Li Yiming felt what it was like to be on the other end of a beating courtesy of a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> pissed off Zhang Qiling. That was the only time Kan Jian saw his boss's spouse get angry for someone other than laoban.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She still looked hesitant at his offer, but it seemed that luck was on their side once again, because Pangzi and Liu Sang were walking up to them, a wide smile on the fat man's face. "You brats were late with the food. So we offered to come instead of laoma."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"More like you forced me along…" the glasses-wearing male grumbled as he adjusted his earphones back into his ears. "And I couldn't say no."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s because laoma had another coughing fit, and dear laoba didn't want to leave their side. The others were in the kitchen leaving just you with some free time,” the fat man said as he poked the other. “And the doc was taking over watching the pups.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is laoma okay?” Li Cu turned towards the newest addition of Wu Xie’s adopted “children”, worry on his face. Kan Jian was also worried since it had been hard to hear about his boss’s illness (he had always thought that laoban was invincible, having faced death so many times and still come out on the winning side), but lately, his condition had improved by the day by some miracle. But that didn’t mean that his body was back to normal, his immune system was still adjusting to fighting against the cancer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s fine. Laoma is tougher than most of us.” Liu Sang reassured the others. “He’s wrapped up in laoba’s nest with XiaoXiao and Xiao Wan right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe some other time would be best,” the woman finally spoke up, a soft smile on her face once again. “If your mother is sick, I wouldn’t want to impose on her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kan Jian wanted to say that the pair wouldn’t be that much trouble since laoban wouldn’t deny anything for Li Cu. But luck strikes thrice, as Pangzi turned his attention to the woman, his eyes lighting up as a big grin nearly split his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Piaopiao, is that you?” Kan Jian had not seen the man that excited outside of food or a good drink. The woman looked very much confused as to why the older man was suddenly so excited. There was a flash of fear that entered her eyes as well, but it was quickly hidden over by her confusion. “We went to the same middle school. It’s me, Wang Pangzi!” The man pointed to himself. “I helped you with your bike a few times, and you gave me some sweets as thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her confusion was still present. “I’m sorry, I don’t…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The stalker from the upper classes, the one who kept following you every day. The one I beat up when he attacked you? And then I gave you my jacket before taking you home?” He moved his eyes to Xiao Mei. “It’s been a while, but I’m glad you still kept it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was when Kan Jian took another look at the jacket that the young girl was wearing. It was indeed a very old style, with patches sewn on at the elbows and a little bunny was on one of the pockets. Other than that, it looked like it was well worn and taken care of for being nearly thirty years old.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“After that, you never showed back up at school. It wasn’t until later that I learned you moved away. It’s good to see you again.” Pangzi sounded almost fond as he talked about the woman. It wasn’t like he did when he talked about his celebrity crushes, overly sweet, but more like when he was talking about laoban to outsiders, full of pride. (He sometimes did the same thing when talking about laoban’s spouse, but the guy was already a legend in his own right. Zhang Qiling was someone you didn’t want to mess with </span>
  <b>
    <em>at all</em>
  </b>
  <span>.) He even had that same smile that he wore whenever he was around the other two halves of the Iron Triangle. Watching the exchange between the two, Kan Jian saw how her confusion morphed into recognition, then shock. Then a true smile appeared on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I remember you now! The Little Hero who saved me a long time ago.” Kan Jian watched the woman lose a bit of the wariness in her posture.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just then Li Cu jumped up, looking just as excited as the fat man, “You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> Aunty Piaopiao!”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes, Piaopiao and Xiao Mei appear here. They appeared outta nowhere when I was writing this chapter, and I happen to be a major platonic!Pangzi/Piaopiao shipper at the moment. (Along with Li Yiming/Payback because I DO NOT LIKE THAT GUY!) This chapter will later be tied into another I'm working on for this verse.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Bravery on the streets 💜</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bravery comes in all shapes and forms, even furry ones.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is beta'd by not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 of my sibs from discord. This chapter is for you! skydancer04 (meimei), Merianna (Dage), Meh-qianbei (from discord) and Chirpy (also from discord). These four put up with my nagging so that I could bring you this awesome chapter.</p>
<p>(Also please note that there are descriptions of animal cruelty in this, which is why the rating went up and for bits of swearing, so if you can't handle it skip "The white Kunming was standing over a pissed off Xiao Xie" to " "YOU BASTARDS!" He and Li Cu screamed at the same time."  And I'm not a vet, and my basic first aid is very limited)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Yang Hao was walking Xiao Mei back to her mother's barbershop after school with Li Cu, Su Wan, and several of the animals from Wushanju when they heard the noise. This was their usual routine almost every Friday when they came back from college. Li Cu had brought along Tianzhen and Xiao Xie, who had been riding on the younger male's shoulder before she decided to ride with their adopted meimei. Kan Jian's white Canadian Shepherd loped beside Yang Hao, dressed in his custom blue Stitch hoodie with a custom satchel carrier for the two kittens Xiao Wan and Loaf. Li Cu's adopted uncle Wu Erbai ("</span>
  <em>
    <span>call me Ershu, boys. Since my nephew has taken you all under his wing</span>
  </em>
  <span>,") had seen it online when buying the latest fighting game for them all and brought it along. It fit just fine on Tianzhen and Stitch, but was too small for Xiao Moli, so whenever they went out for a walk with the kittens, either of the snowy dogs would wear the satchel carrying the little riders. Sometimes they even brought them along when picking up Xiao Mei like they did that day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The noise came from a back alley that they had passed, a mix of teen laughter and the cries of a wounded kitten. Xiao Xie heard the sound a split second before they did, jumping out of the girl's arms to sprint down the alleyway, growling menacingly. As if sensing what the cat was after, Tianzhen gave a series of loud barks before following the black blur. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Su Wan, stay here with Xiao Mei. Me and Li Cu will go after those two." Yang Hao ordered, worry for the animals evident in his voice. He gave the other teen a look he had been learning from Wu-nainai, the one she gave Ershu's subordinates when they came to report to her. (He had been spending too much time around her and Rishan-yeye, learning the inner workings of the Bingqing Yujie Sanctuary and the Crescent Hotel, respectively if he was copying them. Not to mention he actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>liked</span>
  </em>
  <span> them. No matter how old they were, they could still kick his ass. Especially together.) "Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> follow us."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Go, Hao-ge. I can look after Meimei." nodded Su Wan as he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. Xiao Mei looked scared, but as her newly adopted older brothers, it was their duty now to protect her. (All their martial arts training would be put to good use if her bastard of a father ever showed up.) Yang Hao could only hope that those two listened to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Let's go, Li Cu." Without much prompting, the other followed after him into the back alley. If he was correct, they would be facing some very sick teens with a twisted idea of fun. Laoma's sense of justice had rubbed off on him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They hadn't even run down half the alleyway before they found what could only be described as sickening. Five teens, all dressed in the same uniform from a different school district were surrounding a very protective Tianzhen. The white Kunming was standing over a </span>
  <b>
    <em>pissed off</em>
  </b>
  <span> Xiao Xie, her hair standing on end as she hissed at the teens. Curled up next to her was a small tabby kitten, probably a little bit older than the other two with Stitch. Left leg bent in all kinds of directions, with small bits of bone tearing through flesh and blood dripping down to the dirty pavement, the kitten shivered under Xiao Xie’s protective shadow. Yang Hao was surprised that none of the teens had managed to nick a major artery with their sick torture but was thankful for small miracles. The poor thing was mewling so loudly in pain; it broke the former delinquent's heart. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <b>
    <em>YOU BASTARDS!</em>
  </b>
  <span>" He and Li Cu screamed at the same time. The older teen didn't even have time to think before Li Cu was flying at one of the boys, his hit landing in the boy's gut, looking much like the falcon punch from the Naruto meme. All that training with Laoba seemed to have made him faster, though not as graceful as either Zhang. In this situation, grace was secondary to strength, as Li Cu’s punch had enough power behind it to knock the delinquent back into a nearby dumpster, making a sizable dent. Not one to be left behind and with the others surprised by Li Cu's attack leaving them wide open, Yang Hao delivered a running spin kick, knocking two of them into each other. Using his momentum as he touched down, he lashed out again to catch a third boy in a leg sweep. The third landed on his ass while squealing in surprise. When Yang Hao was back up and ready to face the last one, Li Cu had beaten him to it, having the younger, and clearly the leader, pressed face-first against the alley wall with his arm twisted behind him. Scratches marred the leader's face, tears in his school jacket. The younger brunette had a fist full of poorly dyed blond hair in his other hand as he pressed the delinquent up against the rough brick wall. Li Cu didn’t even look like he had broken a sweat as he ground the boy's cheek against the wall. There was a look about his eyes that Yang Hao had only seen twice, from Wu-nainai and Laoma, that showed that he was not a meek kitten to be underestimated; he was a tiger cub learning to </span>
  <em>
    <span>hunt</span>
  </em>
  <span>. (Yang Hao was scared to admit that seeing Li Cu as badass as his adoptive family made his blood burn and rush to his lower half. It was hot as fuck.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Picking on an innocent kitten. How sick are you bastards?" Li Cu growled as he twisted the delinquent's arm even harder behind his back. Apparently, he had been taking more than martial arts lessons from his adoptive parents, he had even picked up some of Laoma's Xiao Sanye persona. "Huh? Do you get off on torturing an animal that can't fight back?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's it your fucking business? It's a stray anyways," the fake-blond teen squeezed out between huffs. He tried to glare at Li Cu; a poor attempt given how his face was smashed up against the alley wall. The brunette answered in kind with a feral smile that he also learned from the Wu family (they all had their own versions, but they were all so effective to unnerve their </span>
  <em>
    <span>prey</span>
  </em>
  <span>) as he leaned over to whisper in the kid's ear, "This is Wu territory. Anyone who dares to harm an animal will face the wrath of Tigress Wu. Understand?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yang Hao never understood why people around Changsha called Wu-nainai Tigress Wu until he actually met the woman. She was just as fierce in person as an actual tigress. There was even one in her shadow as she walked about the Sanctuary. Despite her appearance, she was very kind, but also strict, to her family and her grandson's "adopted" children. She and Rishan-yeye had taken him under their wings (or paws in their case) and were the best teachers he could ask for. Wu-nainai lived up to her reputation as a woman to be feared in Changsha, first earning it by beating up </span>
  <em>
    <span>the</span>
  </em>
  <span> Zhang Qishan over the poaching that was happening on her family's land by some members of the 9 families </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>she was married to Wu Lao Gu. Her reputation continued to grow as she ruled over her house, her territory in Changsha and her family's land, where the sanctuary now stood, with an iron fist. It had lasted nearly sixty years and she was still going strong. No one dared to mess with any kind of animal, wild or domesticated, within the Wu territory because that meant provoking something far worse than the police.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The teen looked like he didn't understand those words. Not that Yang Hao couldn't blame him, even </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn't know who she was until he met her. He hoped to all the gods that Li Cu wouldn't drag this kid to his great-grandmother; the poor kid probably wouldn't survive meeting the old tigress. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were several groans of pain from behind him, making the older boy lash out with a swift kick back into one of the leader's lackeys who was just getting back up. Turning around to face the others (the one who was knocked into the dumpster had yet to get back up) Yang Hao readied his stance like Rishan-yeye taught him. Giving them his best patented Zhang Rishan glare, he waited for the punks to make their move. One tried to rush at him, but their form was sloppy and wasted too much energy in the sprint, making it easy for the brunette to dodge the punch aimed for his face. Grabbing the other's wrist, Yang Hao pulled it behind the punk hard. While he was busy with that one, a second punk tried to catch him unaware again. Too bad for him that the older teen was more used to much stronger, faster, opponents who had a habit of always attacking his unprotected back. Repeating his kick from earlier, he managed to knock the second teen into the third one, causing them to fall back onto the pavement. Fighting these punks couldn't even be called fighting; they were much too amateurish and wasted much energy in useless attacks. (If this had been a real fight, then these punks would've been dead five times over.) "Don't even </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> about it,  unless you want me to break your friend's arm like you did that poor kitten." Yang Hao growled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other two eyed each other warily before looking back at where their other friends were. For good measure, the older brunette twisted the punk's arm a little harder until he heard a popping noise and the kid screamed. "Remember this well. Harm any animal here, and you'll face the Tigress's wrath. This is your </span>
  <b>
    <em>only</em>
  </b>
  <span> warning." Letting his captive go, Yang Hao spared a glance at Li Cu from the corner of his eye. ( One of the first lessons Rishan-yeye taught him during his martial arts training was to never leave himself open to an enemy.) The younger male was staring at him wide-eyed with a faint blush on his cheeks. Those lessons were more effective than he thought they'd be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was only for a split second before Li Cu returned to his own version of the Xiao Sanye persona, a wicked gleam in his eye. "If we catch you doing this again in our territory, we won't stop at just a scratch." With that final warning, he knocked the leader's head against the wall hard enough to knock him out. Watching the fake-blond crumple like a listless doll was somewhat satisfying. Turning his gaze back to the other three, Li Cu gave them one final message. "Take your buddies and scram. Now."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not wasting any time at all, the two who still had functional arms picked up the unconscious pair as the one with the dislocated shoulder ran. They ran and didn't look back. Once they were out of sight, he called out to the two onlookers who had ignored his warning to </span>
  <em>
    <span>stay behind</span>
  </em>
  <span>. "The show's over kiddos. No need to hide anymore."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Su Wan sheepishly came out from around the corner of the alleyway, Xiao Mei clutching at the back of his jacket with one hand while her other was gripping at Stitch's hoodie. She looked a strange combination of somewhat frightened and awed. Sighing as he slumped over in defeat, Yang Hao walked over to crouch in front of the young girl. "Were you scared, MeiMei?" He offered her a small smile. When she shook her head, he let his smile grow fond. "Good. Because we'll beat up anyone who makes you scared, okay? You're our precious Xiao Mei after all."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hao-ge, can you take a look at the kitten?" Li Cu called from where the other animals were waiting. Standing up again, he made his way back over to the others. He couldn't really tell much from his limited expertise, but he knew who could. Grabbing his phone out of his back pocket, he made quick work of unlocking it and scrolling through his contacts until he found the one with a black bunny titled "Doc Wei".</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It only rang twice before it was picked up. "A-Yang, what a surprise." A flighty male voice answered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sorry for calling all of a sudden, doc, but I've got an injured kitten with its left leg broken in several places and bone poking through the skin. I'm scared to move it too much because of how much pain it's in." Yang Hao reported, trying to keep his voice calm as he explained what had happened to the vet. Just repeating it made his blood boil. "What should I do before we transport it back to the Sanctuary?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately losing levity, the voice instructed, "It would be best to clean it up as much as you can and cover its wound with something sterile. A-Cheng should be in the area picking up the kids. I'll call him to pick you up with the kitten. Lan Zhan is already getting an examination room prepared. Also, wrap it up in a hoodie or jacket because it will go into shock soon because of the blood loss." The man over the phone always impressed Yang Hao at how quickly he could switch between his airy tone and the calm doctor voice he used around the animals. His final instructions were about keeping an eye out for a purple Prius before ending the phone call.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After he and the others cleaned and wrapped up the kitten in Yang Hao's hoodie, they found a dark purple Prius waiting for them at the alley entrance. Standing next to it was an older man dressed in a three-piece suit of black on white with a purple tie in a similar color to the car. He was scowling, but that was his default setting. Inside the car were three boys around Xiao Mei's age, all watching from an open window. "Get in brat. My idiot brother explained what happened. We'll need to hurry."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nodding, Yang Hao turned to the others just as Xiao Xie decided to jump onto his shoulder from Li Cu's. "Let Laoma I'll be back late. And Xiao Xie is with me." The cat gave a soft </span>
  <em>
    <span>meow</span>
  </em>
  <span> as she gently headbutted him. The younger two teens nod as they watched him enter the passenger side of the car.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(Once in the car, the scowling man offered him a small smile, "You did good, A-Yang.")</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. And I promise that the next one will be better. Also brownie points to those who get my cameos in this chapter.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Sleeping on clouds ☁️</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sometimes the clouds can walk the Earth too.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>What's this? Two chapters in a day? Insert my shocked pikachu face here.</p><p>This chapter was beta'd by my meimei (skydancer04) and Meh-qianbei (from discord). And NovaIsTheBlackLondansAntari gave me the idea of how this kitten was found! Hope y'all enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Of all the rumors surrounding the dangers of Zhang Qiling, Pangzi admitted that none did him justice as Xiaoge. (Not that there were many about Xiaoge, beyond him being Xiao Sanye's spouse and to not mess with either of them.) The Xiaoge in front of him laid down on his nest of blankets that he kept in his and Wu Xie’s shared bedroom, watching the other occupants nap through lidded eyes. The three kittens, Xiao Wan, Loaf, and Ying, were a small pile of mixed matched fur in between him and the sleeping Xiao Mei who had her back against Li Cu. The younger male used his right arm as a pillow while his left was snaked protectively around the girl. Xiao Mei had one of Wu Xie's <em> borrowed </em>blankets over her as she slept clutching the front of the immortal's shirt. She had just come back from a hospital visit with Liang Wan, falling asleep during the car ride back to Wushanju. The household was worried that her condition had worsened after a visit from the Bastard No.2 (The title of No.1 went to Li Yiming hands down, but Xiao Mei's father was competing viciously for the title) left the girl with a bloodied nose and Piaopiao with several bruises on her arms and a nasty black eye.</p><p>He, Li Cu, and Xiaoge had gone to the salon to pick the mother-daughter pair for dinner at Wushanju. The weekly dinner had quickly become a routine after the fat man brought them back to meet the other halves of the Iron Triangle; everyone usually eating together the night before the boys returned to campus. Just as they walked through the door, the bastard had backhanded the little girl into the Zhang patriarch’s protective arms, fainting from the force of the blow. The man hadn't even stopped to check on the girl before he raised his hand against Piaopiao, who tried to reach her daughter before she fell. Pangzi didn’t even think twice before he was on the man, jerking him away from the mother. Entrusting the women to Li Cu and Xiaoge, Pangzi viciously twisted the bastard’s captured hand behind his back, the same one that had hit the young girl. How he wanted to break said hand right then and there. He would've loved to give him a piece of his mind, but he knew someone who'd enjoy tormenting him even more than him. (Lan Meifan was <b> <em>very</em> </b> protective of the women that her grandson had "adopted" and she had taken a shine to Xiao Mei very quickly, proclaiming her as her second great-grandchild.) Pangzi would gladly hand the man over to that old tigress just to watch him squirm, but it would have to wait until after they get the little girl checked over by the good doc. Her health came first, <em> then </em> handing the bastard over to Wu Xie's grandmother.</p><p>Before he let the man go, he gave him a final warning. "You cause her any more trouble, and you'll wish you were never born. You hear me?" For added emphasis, he gripped the back of the man's neck hard enough to bruise. "Because she's my <em> family </em> . And we know how to hide a body." Unwilling to touch filth longer than necessary, Pangzi harshly let Bastard No.2 go and went back to the car. Li Cu and Piaopiao were trying their best to stop Xiao Mei’s nose from bleeding while Xiaoge waited by the car, his sword by his side. (Since when did he stash a sword in the family car? <em> Where </em> did he stash it was the better question. Since this wasn't the raggedy van that they used for most of their adventures, it was more of a mid-size SUV that belonged to Ershu.)</p><p>At the hospital, Liang Wan had one of her acquaintances from the pediatric ward look over Xiao Mei. She was doing well given her condition according to the pediatrician, however, while the treatments were helping a lot, a transplant was still needed. If it hadn't been for Wu-nainai footing the bill, Pangzi was worried that Piaopiao would've done something drastic like turning to the black market for help. The boys were getting tested in the coming week, so maybe one of them could be a match. It was a one-in-a-million long shot, but it was better than nothing.</p><p>As he stood watching the kids (and kittens) sleeping next to one of the most dangerous men on the <em> planet </em> , he couldn't help but think that Xiaoge was just as soft as his spouse. Xiaoge had sat with the girl while her mother accompanied by Li Cu got checked out by Lian Wan. He had even carried the girl from the car and to his nest to rest while Pangzi explained why they were late returning home. (He had seen the dark look in Wu Xie's eyes as he explained what had happened with Piaopiao's ex-husband. It was a look he had seen once before, hoping he wouldn't see it again in this lifetime. How wrong he was.) He wasn't even halfway through describing the altercation before Wu Xie was on the phone with his grandmother. He was very much like her in his <em> fierceness </em>as Pangzi explained what had happened at Piaopiao's salon. (He may have caught something about the Chairman too, but he had his attention elsewhere.) Piaopiao had taken a seat at the table, while Liu Sang and Wang Meng hovered, with a cup of tea in her hands brewed by Yang Hao. All of the men at Wushanju had become very protective of the pair over the last couple of weeks, even the absent Kan Jian who was helping out Chairman Zhang with an errand. Li Cu's white Kunming had his head in the woman's lap, letting her scratch behind his ears. Xiao Moli accompanied Wu Xie along with XiaoXiao and Xiao Xie as he talked on the phone in the courtyard.</p><p>Which left him to check up on the kids and their laoba as they slept in the safety of Xiaoge’s blanket nest. (It wasn't all that hard to see how Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling acted as parents to all the youngsters that gathered at Wushanju and while he liked to joke about it all the time, but when it came down to it, they all were one big family. <em> Their </em> family.) A soft smile stretched across his face as he watched the older man just watch them like they were something as precious as his soulmate. It was almost picture-perfect; if only their laoma was in the nest as well.</p><p>A muffled <em> meraow </em> by his feet had him looking down at the long-haired female cat walking in carrying a white puffball. Larger than Xiao Wan and Loaf but around Ying's size, the kitten had a pair of mismatched eyes: stunning blue and bright golden-amber. The poor thing looked too frightened to even move as it was carried to the occupied nest of humans and felines. Careful to not wake those that were sleeping, the black-haired cat made her way to the other kittens to place the newest addition to her litter among its siblings. The snowball of a kitten let out a weak cry before Xiao Xie curled around the four, wrapping her front leg around the kitten to snuggle both it and Xiao Wan, who was next to them.</p><p>Pangzi just watched all this unfold with soft eyes. He nearly jumped out of his skin when an unexpected voice spoke up from behind him. "She is very fast." The voice sounded fond, if a little winded, with a slight lilt to it. Turning to look behind him, Pangzi saw none other than Qi Tiezui, Ba Ye himself, dressed in a simple cashmere sweater over jeans and sneakers. At his heels was a very fluffy, tiny, English creme retriever with a beautiful blue bow around its neck. It was an odd sight to see the man dressed modernly after spending nearly 60 years missing, only to reappear with Xiaoge when he had returned from behind the Gate. The first time he met the man, he still wore a traditional <em> chang pa</em>o that he had favored before he went missing. That had been years ago, and the former head of the Qi family had spent that time getting used to modern life with the help of the kids and his fiance (given how quick the Chairman was to kiss him in the office, Pangzi was surprised that he hadn't married the man on the spot). Looking at him now, it was hard to believe that Qi Tiezui was near 100 years old.</p><p>(Pangzi would never forget the look on the old Chairman's face when the four of them walked into the man's office. It had been priceless. Zhang Rishan's normally indifferent facade broke as if seeing the other man unlocked the emotions he usually kept well hidden, unleashing a flood. The kiss they shared was something straight out of the cliché romance movies he had seen growing up. All soft and tender, and completely oblivious of the other occupants in the room. Pangzi thought that Wu Xie and Xiaoge were bad. The Chairman and Ba Ye were a lot worse, especially since they had <em> decades </em>of catching up to do.)</p><p>"Xiao Xie likes stealing kittens…" the fat man told Ba Ye. "Though where did she find this one? It looks too well-groomed to be a stray." Pangzi had noticed it earlier that the newest kitten was well better-taken care of compared to the other three.</p><p>"I brought it over for Su Wan. The Lieutenant found this one hiding in the hotel and had heard from Yang Hao about how the others had kittens of their own. He's here talking with A-Xie and Piaopiao." The other man offered Pangzi a soft smile as he peered behind him to stare at the occupied nest. "She's still tired, I see. The poor dear."</p><p>"I won't let that bastard anywhere near them again." Losing the soft edge in his voice, the taller man gripped his hands into fists at his sides. "He's very lucky that Xiao Mei comes first. Otherwise, he'd have a long line to face when it comes to kicking his ass. Starting with me."</p><p>"Well, when she wakes up, the Lieutenant and I have a surprise for her." The astrologist patted Pangzi on the shoulder before taking his leave. "We were on our way here to give it to her along with the kitten for Su Wan when Lan Meifan called. Maybe this can put a smile back on her face." Curiosity piqued, the fat man followed Ba Ye to where the Chairman was no doubt sitting with most of the household, aside from those resting in the blanket nest. </p><p>Finding the other Zhang in the dining room with the others, dressed down for a change and helping the puppy into his lap, Pangzi had to stop and stare at the gift on the table that the two men wanted to give the young girl. "It's perfect."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Surprise! These two just couldn't wait and appeared in this chapter. Also, I officially hate Xiao Mei's father, the guy is such a bastard! I would love to lock him and Li Yiming in a closet and never let them see the light of day again. But I'll settle for Xiaoge kicking their asses instead.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. A mourning storm 🥀</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Not even rain will slow down Xiao Xie when she's on the hunt.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I promise that I am not dead! (yet) I got super busy with the kiddos at my work and hadn't had enough time to really post (this chapter had been sitting in my folder for two weeks waiting for me to reach out to my betas then to be posted) and since it's Thanksgiving next week where I'm at, here's an early present! The next to last chapter OoO! One more chapter to go and this little gift will be wrapped up (see my pun?).</p>
<p>As usual, a huge thanks goes out to my two awesome betas skydancer04 (meimei) and Merianna (Dage). They helped me out a whole bunch with this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Rain pitter-pattered down the roofs and drains, accompanying them back to Wushanju. Liu Sang joined Li Cu and Xiao Mei on an errand for the girl’s mother, who was making a couple of side dishes for their usual Saturday night dinner. During Yang Hao’s surreptitious questioning for favorite foods, they had taken it upon themselves to make Li Cu’s favored dishes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Allegedly, there existed a certain dish that his mother had cooked, which had firmly held his favor since he was a young child. Li Cu couldn’t remember the name of it, but, as he was describing it, PiaoPiao lit up. The dish that he had been talking about was a specialty from her hometown. She had offered to make it that night, and to teach Yang Hao. Liu Sang had never really had any favorites before meeting the residents at Wushanju. Before, his life consisted of wanting two things - to meet his idol and to find his family. He had done both of those now, though meeting his idol went much better than his so-called “family” reunion. To be honest, he rather liked the family at Wushanju way more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meeting his idol had been a fluke, as he told Pangzi this one night when he was drunk enough to open up. He and Pangzi had been on a job; Liu Sang focused on a competitor that had tried to kill both of them to settle a score, and Pangzi on an errand for Chairman Zhang, (almost half a year ago). Both of them would’ve ended up in a ditch somewhere if his idol hadn't shown up when he did. The job was left uncompleted, interrupted by the group of thugs hired by Liu Sang’s contractor. While Liu Sang had originally thought of the fat man as nothing more than a nuisance, that night had changed his opinion of him just a little bit. Pangzi had sensed something was off about the job, and sent a text to Wu Xie asking for help. (Liu Sang had read the text a few days later and he had to do a spit take because the entire thing was ridiculous. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Laoma, bao bei is scared! Want Laoba!”</span>
  </em>
  <span>) Liu Sang hadn’t even noticed something was off until the thugs had shown up, carrying weapons. One good shot to his head and he was down for the count.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he awoke next, the Wushanju guest room ceiling and Liang Wang’s solemn eyes greeted him. Wu Xie and his idol stood nearby, cats hanging off of them. A male calico stood on the hooded man’s shoulders, while a long-haired black cat with the most stunning green eyes watched him, perched on the folded arms of the man with kind eyes. The doctor had explained what happened. “You were lucky enough that Pangzi noticed something was off.” The woman was putting away some first aid equipment as she spoke. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>He had enough sense in him to send out an SOS.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Where am I?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” the younger man groaned, attempting to sit up and immediately regretting it, as just lifting his head made the room spin. Thumping back against his pillow, he gave up trying to move his head, focusing his hearing on the occupants in the room (and the ones outside the door). He could hear five distinct animal heartbeats (two inside the room and three outside), along with several human heartbeats and one irregular one. The one irregular heartbeat came from the one wearing the hooded jacket, resounding inhumanly slow and steady. Turning his head to look, Liu Sang noticed that the cat on the man’s shoulder was curiously eyeing him, almost like it knew what the younger male was thinking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wushanju. Pangzi and Xiaoge brought you back here after they saved you from those thugs,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” the woman told him once she had finished putting away the kit. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>For someone with superhuman hearing, they got the jump on you pretty quickly.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I was….irritated.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” His gaze lowered, shame filling his veins at the admission. The reason for his irritation had been a purely childish one. Simply put, he’d been jealous. Of </span>
  <b>
    <em>Pangzi</em>
  </b>
  <span> of all people. The fat man had been bragging about his family throughout their entire time on the job, and, for some reason, it had dragged over his skin like sandpaper.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Well, now you’re safe. Get some more rest and we’ll talk in the morning.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” The woman smiled brightly before turning her attention to the other two in the room. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wang Meng is waiting for me outside. Since the only other guest room is taken for the night, we’ll head home. Keep an eye out for a concussion. I’m not sure just how hard they hit him, but it’s better to keep watch just in case.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Thanks for coming out, Liang Wan. Sorry, it had to be so late though.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” The man holding the black-haired cat offered her a gentle smile of his own as he shifted the feline to one arm. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>The kids will be sad to see you leave.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Both he and Liang Wan laughed as several groans could be heard from behind the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>It was a nice try, kids,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” the woman called as she walked over to the door with the first aid kit in hand. When she reached the door, she yanked it wide open, allowing for several teens to spill in, along with the fat man. The teens seemed to be around his own age, with each wearing varying looks of embarrassment while Pangzi just smiled like a fool. Each of them was in loose-fitting clothes, likely their sleep clothes. Standing behind them were three dogs; one a patchwork of black, brown, and grey fur, and the other two were pure white. Two of the dogs leaned down to sniff at one of the boys in the pile. Both the teen and the woman laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Dajie!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" One of the boys got up, a brilliant smile on his face. Liu Sang noticed that on the boy's shirt it read in English '</span>
  <b>
    <em>I'm the good one, I play by the rules</em>
  </b>
  <span>'. "</span>
  <em>
    <span>You caught us, huh?</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wasn't all that hard. You'd think you'd learn after that last eavesdropping incident with Rishan-yeye.</span>
  </em>
  <span>" That comment caused all three of their faces to flush bright red. Liu Sang had to wonder just what their grandfather had done that made them so embarrassed. Judging by how two of their heartbeats sped up, it must have been something they shouldn't have seen. (Liu Sang would later learn that Li Cu and Yang Hao both had one-sided crushes….on each other).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Just because it’s the spring holiday doesn't mean that you three get to stay up late playing around. Wu-nainai wants you at the Sanctuary early,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” the man with the black cat playfully warned the three young males, crow feet wrinkling with his grin. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Off to bed with you.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The three chorused “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes, Laoma</span>
  </em>
  <span>” before the one standing up easily pulled the other two still on the floor to their feet. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Night, Laoma. Laoba. Dajie.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” As they left, two of the three dogs went with them. One of the snowy white dogs stayed behind, it’s chocolate eyes transfixed on him. Pangzi also stayed behind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Glad to see you’re okay,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” the older man said in an awkward tone that showed his worry, and his heartbeat mirrored it. The fat man lifted a hand to rub the back of his head as he gave a lopsided smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I hear it’s because of you,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Liu Sang answered softly. He wasn’t sure why, but a small part of him was still envious of the fat man. Irritation was also still strong, like grit under his nails, but at that moment he had been grateful. Growing up, he had to learn to trust only his hearing and his wits. It had saved him plenty of times </span>
  <b>
    <em>before</em>
  </b>
  <span>. This was the first time he had ever been grateful because of someone else. And, as the months passed by, he remained grateful (even if the man still tap-danced on his nerves) and he had found something he hadn’t known he was truly missing. </span>
  <b>
    <em>Family</em>
  </b>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After that initial job, Liu Sang noticed that he began to receive more and more requests from Chairman Zhang; which usually had him partnered with either his idol or with Kan Jian and Luo Que. (After spending a few weeks at Wushanju, he had slipped up one night when he was talking with Li Cu, and ended up calling his idol Laoba. The smile that he got in return for the slip up made it worth the scorching embarrassment. Pangzi had teased him, calling him a “daddy’s boy” the entire night.). There had been one occasion during the summer when everyone had gotten together. All humans and animals were included. A ‘family trip’, to borrow Pangzi’s words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(The trip had started out when Wu Xie’s grandmother had called saying that an old friend had found an unexplored tomb on the Sanctuary's lands; a tomb that happened to be owned by a small-time warlord who had been an ancestor to Lan Meifan. Apparently this warlord had connections to what Wu Xie and the others referred to as ‘The Bronze Gate’. But that trip was a story for a different time).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The rain seemed to come out of nowhere…” Li Cu’s voice brought him back to the present, making the glasses-wearing male look over to where the other was trying (and failing) to dry himself off. Xiao Mei wasn’t as wet as them, because they had used their jackets to cover her from the sudden downpour. In her arms, Xiao Xie was huddling close to give the young girl some warmth from the cold rain. Tianzhen and Xiao Moli were trying to shake loose the water from their fur.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It wasn’t supposed to hit until late tonight.” Liu Sang recalled the weather report. There was a huge storm that was supposed to hit a large portion of Northern China and lower parts of Russia as well. “We should call the others to have someone come pick us up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly there was a large </span>
  <em>
    <span>crash</span>
  </em>
  <span> of thunder overhead that startled the group, followed by a much fainter crash down a back alley. With his hearing, Liu Sang noticed the faint cries of a kitten, weak and scared, though he wasn’t the only one to notice. The black cat also perked up at the sound, tail swaying slightly. Before any of them knew what was going through the feline’s head, Xiao Xie took off, running in the direction of the cry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not again…” Li Cu muttered with resigned amusement, as he followed the cat back out into the rain. Liu Sang didn’t even think twice before he followed the other boy into the incoming storm. Soon a flash of lightning lit up the sky. Judging from the distance of the sound of thunder and the lightning, the majority of the storm was still a few miles away. Given how fast the rain was moving, it might take a couple of hours before they would get soaked to the bone. Another </span>
  <b>
    <em>crash</em>
  </b>
  <span> of thunder roared in the sky, soon followed by much louder cries from the scared kitten. They had to run quite a bit into the alleyway before the boys found the source of the noise. Hiding in a flimsy, waterlogged cardboard box, covered by all kinds of junk and a couple of trash bins, was a small black fur ball trying to inch as close as it could to a much older feline that wasn’t moving at all. Liu Sang tried to listen to the old cat’s heartbeat, but his ears couldn’t pick up even the slightest hint of life. Xiao Xie didn’t think twice before she jumped into the box. The drenched kitten hissed a few times before the larger feline managed to grab it by the scruff. The kitten looked to be around the same size as the orange tabby Loaf back at Wushanju; it’s coloring matching Xiao Xie. What bits he could see of the scared kitten’s eyes from behind blown out pupils were a clear shade of blue. Once she had a good grip on the kitten, Xiao Xie turned to look up at the two who had followed her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This had become a habit…” Li Cu leaned down to pick up both felines. As he did so, another flash of lightning lit up the sky. “We shouldn’t stay here any longer…” When he turned around, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Shit! Xiao Mei!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liu Sang had turned around as well, not spotting the little girl behind them. He could feel the panic starting to soak in. He had thought for sure that their youngest member had followed them into the alley. A third </span>
  <b>
    <em>crash</em>
  </b>
  <span> of thunder resounded overhead, making the kitten cry out again. “We’re not too far from where we left her. And Tianzhen and Xiao Moli are with her too,” Liu Sang assured his adoptive brother (still getting used to the title) as he focused his hearing to pick up her voice. “She hasn’t moved. She’s talking to the dogs now. Seems like this is the second time you’ve done this to her.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Li Cu didn’t even hide his embarrassment. Liu Sang had heard the story from Su Wan when he and the others, minus Yang Hao and Xiao Xie, returned home. That had been over two months ago, and Ying was adjusting pretty well as a three-legged kitten. But right now, his worry suddenly increased when he heard two unfamiliar voices (one of them sounded much like Wu Xie’s voice, though there was a bit of lilt to it). “We need to go, now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without explaining, Liu Sang took off once again, knowing full well that Li Cu wouldn’t be too far behind him. Fear raced through his blood, running colder than the drops hitting his skin. They had been entrusted with the girl’s safety, and after the incident with her biological father, Liu Sang did not want a repeat. The little girl had suffered enough at that bastard’s hands. As he was running, he tried his hardest to make sure that he could hear what was going on, but the rain was picking up much faster than he predicted, muffling some of the sounds. But the only odd thing he noticed was that neither of his brother’s dogs were showing any form of aggression towards the two newcomers. Usually, that meant only one thing, they knew who had walked up to talk with Xiao Mei.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once he was within range, he noticed that there were </span>
  <em>
    <span>six</span>
  </em>
  <span> heartbeats, the last one coming from an animal. Not a second later he had them in sight;  and he had to do a double-take, because he was sure that Wu Xie was back at Wushanju with the others. On another note, his hair was hardly ever combed that neatly, if at all. Standing next to the lookalike was a boy around his age, holding a cat that was a much larger version of the kitten that Li Cu carried. When Xiao Mei spotted him and Li Cu, she had the largest smile on her face that he had ever seen. “Gege!” Her voice nearly drowned out by the thunder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Professor Shen?” Li Cu sounded slightly surprised as he went over to the small group that was gathered under the cover of an awning of one of the local markets. “Guo-qianbei?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Li Cu!” The boy with the cat sounded very happy to see the other. “I thought those dogs looked familiar.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice to see you again, Li Cu.” The Wu Xie lookalike offered them both a polite smile. “But what were you doing out in the rain?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, we found this little guy…” Li Cu lifted the two cats in his arms out, letting Xiao Xie return to her perch on their sister’s shoulder while the kitten stayed with Li Cu, shaking and shivering. “This one will make five now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So this precious one must be the kitten stealer that ChangCheng has mentioned.” The professor eyed the long-haired feline who was looking up at him with a smug expression. Like many of the animals that surrounded those who lived (or worked) with the Wu family, Liu Sang had seen many traits in them that resembled those of the people they followed far too much. Sometimes it could throw him for a loop. “She is a very smart cat.” The cat in the boy’s, ChangCheng’s arms, let out a meow that sounded very offended.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You get into way too much trouble, Da Qing,” Professor Shen reminded the cat. “Especially with Yunlan.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Professor, I’d like you to meet my siblings. Liu Sang,” Li Cu pointed to him, “He’s one of Laoma’s latest adoptions. And Xiao Mei, she’s Pangzi’s friend’s daughter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very nice to meet you both. I’m one of Li Cu’s professors, Shen Wei, and this is my cousin, Guo ChangCheng, who is also Li Cu’s classmate.” The neat-looking Wu Xie lookalike offered both of them a handshake. “If you like, Li Cu, we can give you a ride home. Yunlan should be here any minute to pick us up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really, professor? It won’t trouble you, will it?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“None in the slightest. As long as the dogs don’t mind riding in the back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They don’t. How else do you think I get them to and from college?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liu Sang watched the exchange between them with slight apprehension. Something about the older man was putting him on edge. He had a similar vibe about him that Wu-nainai’s “helper” had. Why was that? Other than the fact that this man looked so similar to his idol’s spouse, there was nothing that seemed out of place about the man.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had always wondered, especially with Xiao Moli.” The professor reached over to pat the bear dog on the head, which the large dog allowed. Knowing that neither Xiao Moli nor Tianzhen would allow just anyone to pet them, part of his suspicion eased, while his mind was still going in a loop about why this man looked so much like his Laoma (a name that was taking some time to click with him, even as everyone else, Pangzi included, just let it roll off their tongues). “I take it that you don’t live that far from here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope. I would hate to have to take Xiao Mei out into this rain and have her relapse.” Li Cu gave the small girl a sad smile. “She’s got a major surgery coming up soon.” None of them could believe their luck when a donor who matched Xiao Mei had been found among them. The news had caused a huge celebration at the Sanctuary with everyone, extended family included. Several of Wu Xie’s newest colleagues showed up (though the glasses-wearing brunette had a feeling that there was more to it than what the older male was saying, if what he saw in the eyes of Jia Kiezi was the same thing that he had seen in just about every adoptee of Wu Xie. Including himself), with well wishes and congratulations for the young girl. Liu Sang had got to meet Wu Xie’s cousins on his grandmother’s side and all their relatives. Not to mention, he also got to meet the illusive Wu Yiqiong and Xie Daiyu, who were visiting for a few days before they left once again for parts unknown. Liu Sang could see some similarities between Xie Daiyu and his idol, especially when the woman had, upon spotting the Zhang patriarch, gone into sparring mode. It seemed like it was an everytime occurrence between the two of them whenever they met, so many people at the gathering made way for them while egging the two of them on. Even the ever proper Chairman Zhang had joined in, though mostly to ridicule the other Zhang that he couldn’t beat someone of the Xie line. That comment seemed to spur on something in Wu Xie’s mother, as she soon began to attack the Chairman as well as her son-in-law. That had been a spectacle to see. The “duel”, if one could call it that, ended up in a three-way draw with none of the parties showing any kind of fatigue. All in attendance had just clapped like it was the best show that they’d seen in a while, and, according to the Chairman’s fiance, apparently Xie Daiyu was one of few people who can actually keep up with a Zhang.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then all the more reason for us to drive you home.” The professor’s voice cut through his reminiscing as he nodded towards an oncoming car. It was LandWind X7 in a pale green, with a bike rack on top. “Just in time…” The lookalike had a fond smile on his face, much like the one that Wu Xie would wear when Xiaoge was near. To see it aimed at another person seemed weird in a way to Liu Sang. A sudden thought popped into his head, </span>
  <em>
    <span>what would Wu Xie think about meeting this professor?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(Apparently, his reaction was way off from what he had expected.)</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Surprise! Did you catch the cameos (well not really cameos, but still...)? I have one more cameo surprise in store for everyone so keep your eyes peeled for that final chapter! I promise that it will be so much fun! Hopefully, I can have it out in time for Christmas if work slows down enough for me to actually write. Also, I'm taking bets on who do you think will appear in the final chapter. Winners will get a special surprise. (My discord sibs are excluded since I have a different surprise in store for them.)</p>
<p>Also the names used for Wu Xie's parents were names created by some of my siblings and me. And we kinda made Mama Wu kinda badass in the process? (not even sorry)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Final Chapter: Stealing the Sun 🌤</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Surprises are abound, in more ways than one</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We have now reached the end of this nice little present for one of my oldest discord siblings and none of this couldn't have been made possible without all their help.</p>
<p>Also, a great shout out to skydancer04 for putting up with me all this time. This chapter is for you, meimei!</p>
<p>(Also bonus points for the last cameo of this little fic.)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After spending nearly a decade with the Wu family, Li Cu thought that nothing could surprise him anymore. He was proven dead wrong. They had all decided to go out to celebrate that weekend. Laoma had managed (somehow) to uncover a decades-old conspiracy within Warehouse 11 while adding several more "kids" to his ever-growing brood. (Pangzi had been giggling like a fool when Wu Xie explained all that had transpired during his stint at the Warehouse.) Piaopiao was more than happy to take in the Warehouse trio for a little bit while Rishan-yeye did a bit of house cleaning. Wu-nainai had taken upon herself to buy not only Piaopiao's salon but also the other businesses surrounding her with the claim that all of her money was going to rot away and why couldn't she use it to help the family? Lan Meifan even paid for some minor remodeling to be done on the surrounding buildings. Because of all that, Piaopiao had more room than she and her daughter could deal with; taking on a few tenants would be no trouble. Piaopiao had tried to refuse the offer. Similar to putting up a valiant effort in face of a tsunami. Li Cu had explained to the woman the way that Wu-nainai went about taking care of her family, always caring about their well-being and not about how money was spent. (Li Cu had seen her bank book one time, it was enough to almost make him spit blood with how many zeros he counted. That didn't include all the different pieces of art and antiques she kept about her home.) His adoptive great-grandmother was every bit a tigress as Pangzi described her to be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were all on their way to pick up Piaopiao and the others (animals included) when a loud gunshot caught their attention. Pangzi had hit the brakes so hard that he would’ve hit his head on the steering wheel if Su Wan hadn't acted so fast. Xiaoge had quickly pulled both Wu Xie and Li Cu out of the way. Liu Sang had hunched over the kitten’s carrier. Soon after a second shot rang out, much closer than the first one. Li Cu had to wonder if the shooters were blind because the cars that he and his family were in clearly belonged to the Sanctuary (the logo of the tiger rising out of a cloud and the name of the Sanctuary was printed underneath in an ice blue font) was painted on the side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The sound came from the direction of the salon!” Liu Sang shouted, popping back up. Worry seeping into his tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That bastard!” flew from the fat man’s lips and before anyone could register what was happening, his foot hit the gas so hard that everyone was flung backward. Li Cu turned his head ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of the second car that was following, Kan Jian at the wheel. They were only a few blocks away. When they got there, it seemed like they stepped straight into an action movie scene.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Several guys dressed in dark suits ganged up on the Warehouse trio, and a figure shielding Piaopiao who tried to shelter her daughter and an additional child. Xiao Xiao and Xiao Xie were standing next to the mother, poised to attack the unlucky soul who dared to get any closer. Without a moment to lose, Laoba jerked the side door open, his sword in hand (how did he get that? He didn’t have it when they got into the van!). A swing with his sheathed sword and one went down like a sack of bricks. When the would-be attacker hit the ground, Li Cu got a good look at the other who was fighting against the thugs. It was the sniper from that mute village, Jiang Zisuan. The one who had some unspoken grudge against his Laoma. He had looked worse for wear; his clothes were ragged and he had a dirty bandage wrapped around his left arm. Li Cu had wanted to jump out of the van to attack the other male but he changed targets when he saw the sniper pull a suit away from Piaopiao after she had punched the creep in the nose. (Off to the side, Li Cu heard Pangzi whoop real loud.) Instead, the brunette delivered a spin kick to one thug’s head when the guy pulled out a knife. A grunt of pain escaped the grunt’s lips before he crumpled like a poorly made dumpling. Right behind Li Cu, Yang Hao grabbed a guy who must’ve been sneaking up on the other, because Li Cu had turned around just in time to see Yang Hao throw the guy over his shoulder by his captive’s arm. Once the creep hit the pavement, Yang Hao twisted the captured arm until it snapped. “You always leave your back wide open, Ya Li!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because I know you’re right behind me.” Li Cu offered him a smirk before he reaching out to clothesline one thug who had been trying to run away from Tianzhen. Looking over to where his aunt was, Li Cu noticed that Su Wan and Laoma were standing next to the woman gripping a small, dirty child dressed in rags close to her chest. Xiao Mei was standing next to her mother with Stitch and Xiao Moli in front of the small group. The young girl was also using a smaller version of Kan Jian’s “battle” slingshot, using pebbles as ammo to shoot at any thug holding a weapon. She was almost as good as her “teacher”, though she mostly hitting the suits in the ass. Every time she hit one, Stitch would let loose one of his happy yips. One guy got too close to the small group, only to be blindsided by Lu Que. The “fisherman” had his reel wrapped around the guy’s throat. With an extra pull, the silver-haired male swung his catch into two others before Liu Sang and Kan Jian delivered a powerful kick that knocked the three onto the ground. Li Cu couldn’t feel any prouder than he did right then watching his “little brother” hold his own with their family. Even the Warehouse trio were holding their own with the help of Laoba. Xiao Bai would aim low, sometimes </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> low, while her two “brothers’ would aim high to send them flying for Zhang Qiling to finish off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit! These guys are too strong.” One of the thugs growled. All of his pals were either laying in a heap on the ground groaning, or outright unconscious. Li Cu took notice that his family was in a lot better shape, even if some of them were a little winded. Xiao Mei was smiling as she shouted at Kan Jian and his boyfriends about how all their training had paid off. All three men had bright smiles on their faces, even as her mother looked ready to scold them. Pangzi had taken it upon himself to look over his old childhood friend while Su Wan looked over Wu Xie and the child.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is Wu territory. This area is protected by the Tigress herself.” Li Cu proclaimed, pointing at the sign that hung above his aunt’s shop. In the bottom corner was a much smaller version of the logo on the vans. Several of the other shops in the area now had different variations of the logo somewhere in plain sight that showed they had some affiliation with Wu-nainai’s Sanctuary and the Wu family. The thug that was left standing turned pale as he took in his surroundings. A few of the others who were still on the ground came face to face with five very angry, very protective animals (one of which looked very much like a large bear). All of them tried to back away in fear but all they did was make their injuries worse and the animals growl in warning. Soon the sound of clapping could be heard. Turning to see who was making the noise, a large grin split Li Cu’s face nearly in two. “Rishan-yeye!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Said man was dressed in his chairman attire. A dark chocolate suit with a dusty golden button-down peeking out from under the suit vest and jacket. At his side was his fiance, dressed in a formal changpao of a dark blue with a red scarf, holding their English creme puppy. To the other side of the Chairman was a pair of men, one of whom the young man recognized as one of his former college professors. The professor was dressed in a dark blue 3-piece suit much like his grandfather’s in style, while he wore a blank expression on his face. Standing next to his professor was a man that Li Cu had seen on a few occasions in the professor’s class. He always wore some outfit in white, much like he had done now. This one also looked like it was done by the same tailor that did Zhang Rishan and the professor’s as well. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Professor Zhan…” Li Cu greeted his former teacher. It felt a little odd to see them with his “paternal” grandparents (Su Wan had joked that once Ba Ye married the Chairman, that would make the man Tiezui-nainai), but he was quickly coming to terms with the phrase “six degrees of separation”. It seemed like his life now was full of happenstance that connected his growing family to the people around his new “normal” life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Li Cu.” The older man acknowledged his student’s presence. “I should have known that you were the one he was always bragging about.” The doctor gave the Chairman a small glare. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him be more open than when talking about his ‘wife’ or his grandkids.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not that I’m not flattered,” the young man felt his cheeks heat up, a small bit of joy fluttering to life in his heart. Though that might have also been a bit of adrenaline slowly ebbing out of his system from the fight. “But why are you here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve had a tip of a child trafficking ring,” the one in white said as he eyed Li Cu’s Laoba who was now standing next to his Laoma and Aunt. Piaopiao was still looking over the child over for major injuries with Su Wan and Wu Xie. Even from where Li Cu was standing, he could see rope burns around the wrists and ankles. (It was the injuries on the inside that were the hardest to heal. Especially ones to the heart.) </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lan Meifan did not take kindly to the news of child traffickers in </span>
  <b>
    <em>her</em>
  </b>
  <span> territory.” Ba Ye had said as he set the puppy down to go over to the other animals, who were still on guard against the men laying on the ground. When it got close, Stitch nudged the puppy behind him where Xiao Mei had bent down to pick her up. The fortune-teller smiled as he watched them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That still doesn’t explain why you are </span>
  <b>
    <em>here</em>
  </b>
  <span>…” Li Cu motioned to the guys around them. Still one of them had made a move to get up, seeing as how they were now surrounded by a few officers that had now made their way over to them from where apparently Rishan-yeye had parked his car.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, that.” The Chairman’s fiance nodded to his spouse-to-be. “We had a little surprise for Piaopiao and Xiao Mei, again.” The older man pulled out two slips of paper from his inner coat pocket. Li Cu had noticed that she looked torn between walking over to meet the man with or without the child in her arms. Luckily, Li Cu’s Laoma easily took the child from her, soothing them just as Xiao Xie jumped up onto his shoulder. Piaopiao nodded to the younger man before turning to look at what the Chairman had offered her. The Warehouse Trio made their way over (Xiao Bai had an iron death grip on the sniper) to see what was given to their Dajie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“These are…” Piaopiao’s eyes went wide with surprise as she read what was written on them. Curiosity got the better of him as he made his way over. Su Wan, Yang Hao, and Liu Sang followed after him. Leaning over her shoulder to read them, Li Cu could also feel his eyes bug out of his head as he saw several bank transactions in her ex-husband’s name from off-shore accounts from all over the world. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your husband apparently was laundering the money for our traffickers, pretty well in fact. Until someone found out about them…” The man in white said as he motioned for the officers to take the thugs away. “And apparently he did not know he had messed with the wrong tigress.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nainai…” Li Cu saw the tears begin to gather in the corner of her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We were able to pick him up half-drunk and babbling about how he missed the chance to sell his own </span>
  <em>
    <span>daughter </span>
  </em>
  <span>for some quick cash. It didn’t matter that she was sick.” Professor Zhan had reached into his pocket to give his aunt a handkerchief. The way that he had growled out daughter was something that Li Cu had never seen the man do. Usually, he was all calm and collected (unless dealing with his ‘partner’?). “When I found out that he was your ex-husband, I made a call to an old acquaintance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“On that second piece of paper is the most important surprise.” Ba Ye sounded excited as he motioned for her to take a peek. When she switched the papers, everyone reading it had to do a double-take at what it said. Not even Li Cu could believe what he was reading. He had to rub his eyes a few times to make sure he was reading it correctly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lan Meifan had asked me to create a family tree for you to add to the ever-growing one at the Lan compound. An old tradition she said. As I did some digging, I noticed some inconsistencies with what was listed as your birthdate and what I calculated for you.” Ba Ye explained. “With a little help, I was able to dig up some old records. Apparently, you were adopted when you were a baby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is a lot to take in.” Piaopiao had said through a shaky breath. Li Cu could feel the world almost brighten as he read in the fortune-teller’s beautiful calligraphy at the list of relatives that he had found. At the very top was ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Qi Tiezui, maternal great uncle. Guo ChenChen, grandmother</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Guo Jiayi, mother</span>
  </em>
  <span>.’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re her granduncle?” Su Wan shouted in surprise while Li Cu heard his boyfriend to a spit take as everyone digested the grand reveal. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Li Cu was just imagining all the implications of what the glasses-wearing man was saying. According to him, Piaopiao was a blood relation to an actual Old Nine Gates member, and that she now has even more connections to them than just through her informal adoption by Laoma and Nainai. His brain almost short-circuited trying to figure all of it out. And he had a feeling that he would need to see all the research that Ba Ye had put into this little project of his.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“While I don’t want to ruin the happy reunion, but what are we going to do about this one?” Xiao Bai raised the arm of her captor, who wasn’t really trying to get away. Li Cu had seen the man in action against Laoba in Zhang Qiling mode. The sniper could have easily broken her hold, no matter how superhuman her strength was. “I saw him following Xiao Xie from an alley. I know you said that she likes stealing kittens, but these two are a little too big to be kittens.” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What a rollercoaster, huh? </p>
<p>Thank you all for reading this small ficlet full of fluff and its ups and downs. I promise you all that I have a whole bunch planned for this. I've worked out way too much for this verse to ever quit. </p>
<p>This is not the end...just a to be continued!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yijie, I hope you liked it! And the rest of our discord fam too! You all were so patient with me when writing this even when I may have teased you one too many times with snippets of this work. Keep an eye out for my next work in my On Your Wings-verse and on this one too!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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